It was the act that stopped the city.
The day that Man Haron Monis held 17 people hostage in Sydney’s Lindt cafe in a siege that lasted over 16 hours.
On Monday morning the final stage of the inquest into the Sydney siege began, drawing survivors to once again relive the day that Sydney stopped.
Evidence submitted has already caused a stir as the triple zero phone call made by Lindt store manager Tori Johnson and an unknown operator was played to the court.
In a call that has been transcribed by the Daily Mail and which lasts just under five minutes, the operator repeatedly asks Mr Johnson to clarify his location.
“Okay but it’s not actually a road. I need a road… so I can see Bent Street and I can see Bridge Street. Are either of those near you?” She said.
“Oh Elizabeth okay so that’s a cross street for me so that helps. So Elizabeth Street so what have you got there?
“Can you just hang on a minute. Phillip Street, is that in Martin Place?”
Mr Johnson maintains a commendable level of calm as he desperately tries to relay the severity of the situation beyond his location.
He repeatedly tells the operator he needs to read a message.
The operator continues to question him about the location and surrounding details, asking him to ‘hang on a minute’ and ‘stay on the line’ when she confers with others in the background.
After being unable to relay the message in its entirety, Mr Johnson apologises to the operator before forcibly steering the conversation back.
“Sorry, I have a gun in front of me,” he says.
This final stage of the inquest will look at the events of the siege itself and the police response. According to ABC News estimates, it could potentially extend over months.
Click below to relive the moments the hostages were finally set free…
Top Comments
What's the problem publicising the awful way this call was handled. I don't want to blame the dispatcher but I do blame her managers for ensuring she was so poorly trained she did not even know a major Sydney landmark like Martin Place.
SOOO disagree with Tori's emergency call being made public. Where has our respect gone? His poor family ...
I agree 100%. I changed the channel when The Project were playing it last night.
I can understand it might have had to be played for the inquest, but the rest of us don't need to hear it. Very poor taste.
not saying i agree or disagree - but this is hardly the first instance of an emergency call being made public.
It's not the first and it won't be the last. We aren't talking about other instances - only this one, it is definitely in poor taste and disrespectful to the family to play it.
then why wouldn't it always be in bad taste to play it?